


Protecting the Weak

by coop500



Category: Days Gone (Video Game)
Genre: Caring Deacon, Gen, Rain, Safevore, Snow, Softvore, Some mentions of Freak killing, Thunderstorms, Wholesome Deacon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-21 08:24:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20690468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coop500/pseuds/coop500
Summary: A child strays too far from Lost Lake Camp, just as a storm rolls in, but is fortunate to be found by someone willing to lend her a hand.





	Protecting the Weak

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: This story contains soft, non-fatal and gentle vore, meaning one person swallows another whole, but don't worry no one is harmed by this and it's done in a protective, safekeeping sense.
> 
> So I don't have home Wifi, I haven't for about a month now, BUT that's given me time to do some writing and uh... play some silly games I never thought I was going to play, such as Days Gone. I haven't finished it yet but I couldn't help but write a cute little fanfic of it.  
Story takes place shortly before the.... Ripper incident, I don't wanna spoil it but players who played that part will probably know what I mean.

It was pouring out, rain coming down in bucket loads, people collected the rain with what they could, any container that wasn't deadly, they never knew when they might need fresh water. Lightning cracked across the sky, lighting up the muddy roads just for a split second before it was back to pitch darkness. In the brush alongside one of these dirt roads, a young child was huddling in some tall bushes, curled up and attempting to wait the storm out. She couldn't see anything during this, the cold rain slowed her down and she was much too afraid of Freakers, Rippers and Marauders finding her to have a light, a light in total darkness like this drew attention, too much attention. 

The gurgling snarl of a Freaker snapped her out of her huddling up zen, shoot, one of them was close. Of course, during the night, it became almost crawling with them all over. Gulping nervously, she knew she had to move, she couldn't stay in this patch of bushes forever. Carefully, she peaked around through the bush to weigh her options and see what her situation was, but she had to wait for lightning before she could see anything. Mother Nature was kind to her, in a sense, as a few bolts flashed, though the booming sound of thunder afterward made her flinch and instinctively want to cower away from it. But she resisted and looked around, spotting five Freakers around her, lurking around. She winced and ducked back down deep into the bushes, this wasn't good... She could maybe outrun one, possibly two, but five? Not going to happen. 

So the young girl was going to have to be sneaky about this, so she looked around, waiting for the lightning again to show her surroundings and tried to pick out a path. Before she could decide though, she saw a man with a baseball cap on backward, wearing at least two layers of clothing, maybe even three and armed to the teeth sneak up behind one of the Freakers and stab it with a knife to the head. It was somewhat quiet, at least it didn't alert the other Freakers, but everything went dark again before she could see what he did next. The girl ducked back down again and held her breath, her heart fluttering a million miles a minute, Freakers were kinda dumb and slow so if she was smart and fast she was fine, but that man? That was a whole different story. He looked like a Drifter, with how many weapons he had poking over his shoulders. She tried to remember if anyone back in Lost Lake camp said anything bad about Drifters, like if they were dangerous or mean to other people. 

Before she could think much, she heard sounds like something or someone walked into the brush she was in, causing her to curl her toes, a nervous habit, and hug herself, hoping to be as small as possible and be overlooked. Another lightning strike, she was able to see the back of her bush invader. It was the man again, and she spotted one of his weapons, was that... a table leg? Or a stool leg? With a scary sawblade wired onto it? It was a disturbing glimpse and it made her imagination run wild as she was back to being left in wet, cold darkness with a stranger only a few feet from her. He didn't seem to notice or see her, too focused on the Freakers, so as long as she didn't draw attention to herself or bump into him, she was probably fine. 

She began to wonder if Drifters didn't stay at camps because they enjoyed doing something unwelcome in said camps and of course, being a child, her imagination went to something quite unlikely yet common for young humans to think about in fairytales and such. She wondered if Drifters gobbled up little children, with a monstrous weapon like that, she couldn't help but imagine the man that wields it is just as scary. He wasn't unnaturally massive, but he was of good size, far larger than the little girl of course, which to her made him seem like a giant. It was only exaggerated further by the fact she only got to see glimpses of him via the lightening, otherwise, everything was pitch dark. 

No lightning came to show it, but she didn't have to see it, she heard that man attack another Freaker, the knife sinking into rotting flesh alongside the final sounds of death. He likely didn't realize it but he was actually helping her quite a bit, having killed two of them already. She assumed he was going to move on now, but he made a U-turn and killed the third one. At that point, the other remaining two turned around and saw him before he could get back to the brush. One let out an alarming shrill, while the other just growled before they both charged at him. 

The child stayed hidden and just waited it out, hearing the man swing at the Freakers, possibly with that scary stool leg weapon he had. If it was anybody else she'd worry that the monsters got him, but she wasn't worried, in fact, she was more afraid of him than she was of the Freakers. So as he was taking care of them, she turned and began to creep in the reverse direction. The way he was going, she saw a campfire in the distance earlier, but some scary folk lived over there, Rippers. He wasn't a Ripper though, so what was he doing? Either way, she didn't want to be anywhere around if there was a fight involving guns. The noise would attract Freakers for one thing but also, she didn't like gunfire anyway, it was loud, scary and people got hurt. 

The storm was still pouring down with rain, soaking her to the bone seemed like. But she was covering ground, hopefully away from the Drifter as she dashed to one bush group to another. After about a minute, lightning flashed again and she saw she was next to a major highway road, back when hundreds of people used to use them to travel. But that's not what made her pause... She saw something both baffling and exciting. It was a motorcycle, something she usually stayed away from because people were understandably very protective, but this one was pink, with a white eagle on the gas tank and being a young little girl, she was drawn to pink things, especially given how rare it was these days. She didn't get to see too many details beyond that, but she waited for the next thunderbolt so she could see it again. 

There it was, pink as could be when another bolt flashed, she didn't imagine it in her head, it was really there. Excited and throwing caution to the wind, the child scurried her way up to it and with delicate little hands, touched the fender first. "Wow... " She wondered who it belonged to, perhaps a nice lady was around here somewhere? Surely it didn't belong to that Drifter man, right? She would love to see this in good lighting, but she'd have to settle with this as she probably shouldn't hang around long. 

As the child curiously ran her hands over various parts of the bike, she frowned in confusion when a dim orange light lit up the bike, with her shadow cast over it. At first, she thought it was another thunderbolt but this lasted longer than a split second. "Not as good as the one I used to have, but it's coming along. " A man's voice suddenly spoke up, sounding quite matter-of-fact and he was very much behind her and very much uncomfortably close for her liking. Her heart sank to her stomach, the light was a flashlight and this bike belonged to a man... She had a dreadful feeling it was the Drifter and she slowly turned her head to look and see if her fears were true. 

Sure enough, standing there behind her with an amused look on his face, was the Drifter, no weapons in his hands, but that didn't mean anything really, he could draw one in an instant. She moved her mouth to say something, but no words came out, too stricken with fear and worry that he was going to be angry. "For a moment there I thought you were a bastard scrapping my bike, but then I noticed you're a bit too small for that and too lively looking for a newt. " She wasn't sure what a newt was exactly but she probably could guess if she was not feeling like she might kill over dead at any minute. She saw what he did to a Freaker, she shuddered to think what he would do to someone stealing from him. 

He took a step forward towards her and she backed away. as much as she could anyway. She bumped into his bike and froze, sort of trapped between him and his bike. She could try to run by him, but he hadn't done anything wrong yet so... maybe she should try speaking first. "I-I wasn't trying to steal a-anything, honest! " She managed to blurt out, unsure if he was suspicious or not but she wanted to make that clear. "J-just please m-mister Drifter, don't hurt m-me. " She found herself pleading afterward in a more quiet tone. 

"Oh I know, I figured you were just admiring the color. " He answered back casually, it wasn't hard to put two and two together, a curious little girl wanted to look at the pretty pink motorcycle. But that didn't explain why the tot was out here in the middle of the night, during a terrible storm, not far from a Ripper camp with Freakers everywhere. He did look a little awkward for a moment to her plead and wasn't sure what to say to it besides the obvious. "Hey don't worry, I won't hurt you, but this isn't exactly a time or a place for a kid to be wandering around, where're your folks? " He asked, almost sounding... concerned. 

The storm was getting to her, being soaked in rain and all while not being far from freezing out. If it was just a handful of degrees colder, it would have snowed instead. "They are... b-back at Lost Lake. " She answered, wrapping her arms around herself as she noticed she was shivering and not out of just fear of him. She was cold and as the night went on she'd only get colder. "That's a ways from here, want a ride back? " He offered, so far seeming to mean well, despite his scary appearance. Maybe he didn't eat little girls for breakfast then, or maybe it was dinnertime still? She wasn't sure and it didn't matter. 

However, before she could think over his offer any, suddenly he looked down the road, saw something he didn't like and clicked his flashlight off. "W-what's-" She tried to ask what was wrong, but one of his hands went over her mouth and the other arm picked her up before he dragged them both into the bushes nearby. It wasn't the most gentle process and she did squirm a little by instinct, but his body was warm and his grip was like a vice so she was sort of stuck hugged awkwardly against him as he knelt in the brush. 

She had no idea what he was doing, was he going to hurt her? Kidnap her? Maybe worse? Her heart fluttered a million miles a minute and she felt as if she might want to cry. Maybe he had a good reason for this, but she couldn't help but think of the worst. She shivered in nervousness in his arms but didn't try to squirm away, as it wouldn't do much good anyway, plus if she screamed she would attract even more danger. She did stiffen when she felt his breath against her ear suddenly before he spoke in a very hushed whisper. "Listen very closely, there's a Horde coming down the main road right now, surrounding the bike as we speak, hence why we're like this. " He began, making the problem clear to the child and fears of him doing something terrible faded a bit in replace of a newfound fear of a Horde, which if her memory served correctly, meant a huge group of Freakers. She never saw a Horde before, but she didn't really want to either. 

"I have a plan, but we have to be quick and you have to trust me. I can outrun the Horde if I'm seen, circle around and get back to my bike once it's clear, but something tells me you won't be able to keep up, so you'll be Freak chow. They will find us in this brush sooner rather than later, so staying here isn't an option either. " He explained further, which he was right... She could ditch a few stray Freaks, but a whole organized Horde? No way. She was yet to hear his plan though and kept still until he spilled whatever he wanted to say. "I'll be straight with you kiddo, my plan involves me putting you in my mouth and swallowing you whole. It will be scary but you'll be safe, I will take you back to Lost Lake and let you out. " 

The child blinked... In his mouth? And swallowing her whole? Did he plan on hiding her in his... well, stomach? Time was running short though, so she just had to assume that's what he meant, as nothing else really matched right. "I won't force you though, if you squirm now I'll let you go and leave you alone. If you don't then I'll assume you're okay with the plan. " At least he was giving her a choice besides just stuffing her down his gullet, but... It wasn't much of one. Basically, her choice boiled down to who she was getting devoured by, but she wasn't going to live through the night without being in someone's belly and well... With the Freakers, it was a promised death, with the Drifter she might live another day. 

She didn't like her options, but if he was telling the truth, it might actually not be that bad. So she made sure to be very still, to show which she decided. He waited a good ten seconds before he whispered in her ear again. "Okay then, sorry in advance, I promise I'll be gentle. " He muttered, removing his hand from her mouth. Then she soon felt her head become engulfed in somewhere warm and humid, probably his mouth, teeth harmlessly scraping against her, before he took the first gulp. She thought it would be more scary and rough, but as her head and shoulders eased down his throat, it was actually somewhat... cozy. Squishy, slimy warmth chased the cold chill away as he swallowed again, a good part of her main body slipping down into him next. She was upside-down sort of, which wasn't that comfortable, but he was making good progress so she might be able to wiggle her way upright once she was inside. 

He wasn't even holding her anymore, considering it was just her waist and legs out of his throat now. The next part was a little weird, as instead of taking a big gulp to finish her up, he took a series of small gulps, perhaps so she wasn't forced into his gut all at once, giving her time to adjust as more of her eased in. She took advantage of it too, curling with the stomach wall as she slipped by the ring of muscle sealing his stomach off from the throat. Everything was so slippery and wet, but it was also soft, like the comfiest bed she had ever been in. The child never thought a stomach would be comfortable, but it was, causing her to curl up and relax the best she could as her feet finally entered his stomach. She was entirely tucked away and at the Drifter's mercy now, but she trusted him this much, all he had to do was not get caught by the Horde. 

She did wish that she had a light... It was pitch dark in here and not even thunder could light it up. But the muscles in his belly cradled her like she was in a snug, slimy crib, which did provide comfort to the child and ease some of her fears. It was hard to deem a place dangerous when it kept making her feel safe and snug. If they had time she would have asked him for his flashlight, but something told her judging on how he started moving as soon as her feet past his throat, he was a little busy and just hoped she could take care of herself for a bit. In the end, he could have just left her, jumped on his bike and rode away before it got surrounded, but he allowed it just to pull her out of harm's way and spend the time to put her somewhere safe. So she couldn't help but be grateful, even if it did turn out to be true, Drifters did eat little kids. 

That made her start to wonder, did they only do that to protect them, like this? Or did some of them eat kids for food? She hoped it was the former, it made her feel better to know that something she was afraid of was just a safe, snuggly shelter for little ones like herself. She probably will ask him whenever he was not so busy, he seemed like he would tell her the truth and it'd be good to know if not all Drifters were safe to trust. 

At the moment, she still swayed in her soft confines as he snuck around to the back of the Horde, so the child kept her eyes closed and tried to remain patient, her ears picking up the sound of his heartbeat above her. It was beating more quickly than normal, which was understandable, he was in a pretty tense situation. Concerned for her protector, the wee girl did reach up and gently rub the slick, soft stomach wall in front of her, hoping to sooth the nice man she was currently tucked away inside of. She wasn't sure how much it would really do, but she felt him pause, then the wall she just rubbed sunk in against her a little and... she felt rubbing motions back, in a gentle, smooth circle. He must have rubbed his own belly and it actually felt rather soothing... Causing the wee girl to murmur happily and snuggle against his hand, a soft reminder that he didn't forget about her in here. 

Soon the gentle sway started again and she wasn't sure for how long, she stayed relaxed and even started to doze off a little, just from how warm and soft it was in here. For the first time since all this terrible stuff happened, since the... Freaks arrived, she felt genuinely safe, like nothing could hurt her in here. She tried to imagine in her head what it looked like in his belly based on feel and probably emotion-fueled, she came up with the image of a bunch of slimy pillows packed around her. Whether it was right or not she wasn't sure, but it helped her relax despite it being so dark. 

Finally, he stopped and shortly after, she heard his voice. "Are you alright in there, kid?" He asked, again sounding genuinely concerned. As for his question, she felt okay, there was no burning or wasn't being harshly squeezed and actually she felt pretty protected in his tummy. "I'm okay mister, thank you for asking. " She answered sweetly, feeling the muscles around her relax as he took a seat somewhere, probably on the ground in some more bushes. She assumed he was waiting for the Horde to clear out, so they had some time, maybe she could ask him a few questions? 

"You're a brave little kid, trusting me to... well, basically eat you. " He sounded surprised, almost shocked, as he probably expected a frightened little girl inside of him and well, she was at first. But after nothing bad happened for a period of time, there came a point where there was no real reason to be afraid, he said it would be safe and so far nothing happened to prove that wrong. "Well... it was your tummy or the Freakers… They wouldn't be as gentle about it as you. " She said with a faint giggle, though it sounded a little unsure, not because of him, but the image of Freakers attacking her. 

He let out a quiet chuckle himself, giving his belly a soft pat. "I'm glad I am a gentle child eater then. " He jested, now just resting one hand on his middle idly. The girl decided this would be a good time to ask some questions, in case she didn't have a chance to later. "What is your name mister? I'm Lilly. " She asked, it wasn't a big question, but she would like to refer to him as something besides 'Mister Drifter' in her head. She felt him shift, perhaps adjusting to something more comfortable, before he spoke up. "Uh, Deacon. Deacon St. John. " He answered as if he wasn't expecting pleasantries. 

"It's nice to meet you, mister Deacon. " Lilly answered, happy to have a name with his face, and his plush tummy. "Just Deacon is fine. " He assured, almost as if he felt awkward being called by such formal titles, as he himself was miles away from being formal. He looked like a traditional mid 30s biker, even still wearing his colors or cut, the Mongrels. He basically looked like someone most people, especially a child, should want to stay very far away from. But he was nicer than his appearance suggested, at least he was nice enough to save and protect her. 

"Can all Drifters keep me safe in their tummy? " The wee child questioned, her little innocent mind somehow twisting the fact that if someone wandered alone and didn't settle down it gave them special powers. "Uh, what? No no it's-it's not a Drifter thing. It's... uh, a me thing. Do you know those NERO checkpoints around? Well, they have these injectors and one of them... wasn't quite right. " He tried to explain, though given even he didn't fully understand what happened, it was hard to explain to someone else what happened. "You can ask Addy, she explained to me what it did, just... keep it hush-hush around the others. " He added afterward, not that he was listening to her that closely or even understood her, but someone as curious as Lilly might be able to understand. But he didn't really want to be known as a child eater in the camp so he'd rather if those two kept the knowledge to themselves. 

This surprised the child and she had to revaluate how she thought of Drifters. "So... you're the only one? Like Tigger? " She was extremely lucky then, having came across one of the few nice Drifters around and the only one that could swallow her up and keep her safe? It almost seemed too good to be true, but it was true, the cookie crumbled in just the right spots, so to speak. "Can other Drifters still eat me, b-but... you know... N-not nicely? " She asked, though thinking about it already made her nervous.

Deacon chuckled again to her comparison to Tigger. "Yes, like Tigger. " He didn't believe in fate or things like that, they just happened to cross paths and he did whatever felt right at the time. He wouldn't leave a child behind to be killed by thugs or Freakers. "Well there are cannibal Drifters, sure, but... not whole, no. You'd be like, in a stew or something. " He explained, though he frowned as he started to wonder.... did that make him a cannibal? He did swallow a child whole, a human child, he was a human man and he ate her, that... Made him a cannibal, right? He sighed and shook his head, trying to clear his mind of such confusing thoughts, if he was there wasn't anything he could do about it now and he should pay attention to the horde, not get distracted about things he had no control over. 

Lilly gulped nervously to his answer, cannibal Drifters? "I don't wanna be stew... " She muttered, hugging her knees to her chest. So basically he was telling her that all Drifters were different, which... made more sense than any conclusion she came up with beforehand. He was nice, but he swallowed her up whole, then there were mean cannibal Drifters, she assumed there were nice Drifters too but couldn't swallow her like Deacon did. "No one wants to be stew, kiddo, but don't worry, if you stay at Lost Lake and don't get... well, lost, you'll be fine. " She heard him assure her, followed with a few more soft belly rubs, judging by the gentle rubbing motion against her from outside. "Speaking of which, why are you out here in the middle of the night? I assume not to just ogle my bike. " He asked, a hint of his sarcastic nature showing through more. 

Deacon watched as the Horde was finally starting to thin out, but they still had a little time to wait. It was strange how they all walked down the main street, though a couple peeled off that he was keeping an eye on, in case any of them got curious about the bushes he was hiding in. He wasn't sitting despite what Lilly suspected, no he knew better than that, he wanted to get up and run at a moment's notice, so he remained crouched, though his legs did lightly press against his bulging middle, it was not enough to harm Lilly. He didn't expect to make much small talk with a little girl, but he was curious as to why she was out here, though whether she'd tell him the truth or not was a different story. 

She knew this question was coming, it's what most adults asked whenever they saw a child outside of the camp alone and nobody could really blame them, it was far too dangerous for kids to be out and about like that. "I... It's my mommy's birthday tomorrow and... I wanted to find a pretty flower for her, she loves flowers. It was bright out when I left but.... I couldn't find any flowers and then it rained with scary lightning. I tried to get back but everything looked the same and then it got too dark to see and monsters everywhere... And I still didn't get a flower for her. " Lilly looked down with a sad sigh, feeling bad that she had nothing for her mother's birthday and it was far too late to get or find anything. 

The man listened to her story and hummed, it sounded legit, it was noble but dumb, common in children. "Well... I don't know who your mom is, but I would be willing to bet that she will just be glad to have her daughter back for her birthday. She must know by now that you're missing and is worried sick. " He wasn't that good with more emotional stuff, especially with kids, but he knew how much parents often loved their children so it only made sense to him that a mother valued her daughter's life above any other birthday gift. 

Lilly listened to what Deacon's reasoning was and realized that he had a point, she missed dinner by probably six hours or more, her mother must be losing her mind and only wanted one thing, her child back, safe and sound. "You're right... you will take me back to Lost Lake, right mister Deacon? Please? " She asked, though she was pretty sure he did say he would, she wanted to make upmost sure before getting her hopes up. Her answer was, at first, another soft belly rub, which was comforting but didn't answer her question too well. "Yeah I will, don't worry unless you want to just stay in there~ " She heard him answer, his voice holding a teasing tone at the offer of staying. She giggled and relaxed, figuring he would but it was nice to hear confirmation. "If... If I didn't already have a home and my mommy, I would. " She sheepishly admitted. 

Deacon was surprised to hear that, quirking an eyebrow down at his middle. "You'd be fine with living in a slimy cramped stomach? Being bounced around all the time? " If that was the case he best be careful about orphans, if he was to ever meet one and devour them. "Yeah... I mean, it's so soft and warm and... " He heard her continue to sheepishly admit but trailed off for a moment or two. "I feel safe in here, protected like nothing could hurt me. I haven't felt that in... well, since the monsters showed up. " She explained, some of the sheepishness fading in hopes that he would understand. 

He did, he did understand. Children were strange little ones sometimes but it made perfect sense for them to desire feeling enclosed and protected, his stomach fit the bill perfectly. He let out a light laugh, not meanly or mocking, but as if he was still wrapping his head around it, which was exactly the case. "Well, I guess you're right... I didn't realize you were that cozy and content in there. " He said, trying to imagine the situation from Lilly's point of view for a moment, being a helpless little thing that almost every animal, Freaker and more would love to eat, being tucked away in what was in a sense a fleshy, plush bunker inside of someone far larger and stronger. Problem was Deacon wasn't ready to be responsible for another life in this mess longterm, so he was quite glad she already had a home and a worried mother to return to. 

To prove how comfortable and happy the little one was, she snuggled against the soft stomach walls around her, content and trusting that his tummy won't harm her. "I am, but I wanna get home too... I don't know what I'm gonna tell mommy... But I miss her. " She couldn't tell her the truth, at least not the whole truth, that a nice man saved her by gobbling her up whole. First of all, she likely wouldn't be believed, but even if she was, it would get Deacon into trouble. 

Not knowing what else to do to comfort the child, Deacon softly rubbed his middle again. It felt wrong to ask the child to lie to her own mother for his sake, but what else could they do? "Perhaps... you could just tell her everything, just leave out the part that I uhm…. ate you? " Everything else was fine after all, sure it was bad to talk to strangers and all but in this case, it was the only thing that saved her life. If she ever wanted to talk to someone about her time in Deacon's belly, she could talk to Addy, since she already knew all about it. 

Lilly didn't like lying or leaving out the truth, but... She deemed Deacon as a friend and would feel awful if she got him into trouble. "Yeah... I could say you brought me with you and not say how... " She wasn't overly happy with that but it was better than flat out lying about what happened. The fact that it was unlikely her mother would believe such a wild tale made it easier to omit. 

Deacon approved of that, it seemed to be a fair compromise and hopefully, the mother will just be glad to have her child back, she won't worry about the specifics. He looked around and noticed the Horde was safely out of range now and his bike was clear. "Alright, they're gone, I'm going to get on my bike and get us out of here, okay? " He told her, it was probably going to be a bit weird for her once he got rolling, but on a motorcycle, the ride wouldn't be too long. He paused for a just a moment before he stood up and began to lightly jog his way to his bike. 

She perked up to that, at last, they can be on their way. She was glad she ended up trusting him, even if he didn't end up being spotted by the Horde she was still safely out of harm's way in his tummy, he could move around freely without worrying about her keeping up or anything. She could just relax and enjoy the ride, so to speak. "Okay, thank you for... taking me back." Soon she felt a lifting motion, probably from him standing up before she felt a series of soft bounces along with a sway, it was a little strange, but the muscles and walls of his innards kept her secure. 

The Freaks walking by tipped over the bike, so Deacon had to stand it back up, something he was pretty used to so it wasn't really any bother. "You're welcome, kid. " He answered Lilly before he got on it and started the engine up, which actually ran pretty quietly. He glanced behind him and mused that he could still have a passenger behind him if he needed to, which could come in handy if the need ever arises that he needed two passenger spots. Just.... one was very warm, soft and rather... special. The other was just about as uncomfortable as it looked, which he wanted to fix sometime. 

When the motorcycle was started, Lilly could feel the vibrations coming through the bottom of his stomach, rumbling around her. It wasn't a harsh or violent vibration, nor was it that loud. It was already built to be quiet and most of the sound that was left was muffled by layers of clothing and flesh. She couldn't remember how far she wandered but she'd been out here for hours, so she expected a decently long ride, like maybe 30 minutes or so. In the meantime, she had to mentally prepare for the scolding she was going to get from her mother and other worried people at the camp. They will be glad to see her but they also want to make sure it never happens again. Curious about something, she placed a hand on the stomach wall in front of her and looked up. "Can you hear me, Mister Deacon? " She asked, wondering if they could still talk a bit.

Deacon smirked as he heard the little one speak up, able to still hear her past the bike's quiet engine. But he couldn't help himself in teasing her. "I don't know, my mother always told me not to talk to my food. " He said casually as he turned onto a dirt road from the main paved road they were on. His response was some nervous shifts in his stomach before the little voice piped up again. "B-but I'm not food? " She said, her voice cracking a bit and it was a warning indication to Deacon that it was still a bit too soon to tease the poor girl. He felt a bit guilty and quickly came up with something nicer and assuring to say. "Hey hey it's alright kiddo, I was just teasing. Yes, I can hear you, what's up? " He answered back with a more serious but not scary tone of voice. 

Lilly wasn't sure how to take his first response but she couldn't help the spike of fear she felt. She didn't think he'd turn her into a nice midnight ride snack but she was still a bit jumpy. She felt relieved when he caught her stress and worry and explained he was just kidding, which she had hoped he was at the back of her mind but she couldn't tell entirely when he said it. "Oh thank goodness... I'm sorry I... I do trust you, it just scared me a little. " She explained, hoping he didn't feel hurt by her nervousness. She then figured he'd probably want to hear what she initially bothered him for. "I... was curious, do you live at Lost Lake? " She was trying to remember if she ever saw his bike or him around and she couldn't, yet he knew so much about the place. 

Deacon hit the brakes as some bumps were coming up, both not wanting to damage the bike but also to keep the ride smoother for Lilly. Going slower made the bumps softer, almost more like humps instead as the bike went up and then down over them. Once past he heard a Freak's shrill snarl and turned up the throttle to get out of arm's reach of it. All the while listening to the sweet little girl nestled in his belly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. " He really didn't, maybe a nervous giggle at worst was all he intended. But then she came with a rather complicated question, one that he had to think about. "Well, me and a friend are staying there yeah... Big fella, bald, lots of tats like me but missing an arm. " He wasn't sure if he wanted to call it living there, especially since he barely stayed there, he spent most of his time out in the field doing runs for them. His friend, on the other hand, did basically live there, since he can't ride anymore. 

The girl tried to remember if she saw a guy like that and... she might have, at the farm. "Does he go to the farm a lot? " She asked, suspecting she might have seen him, but she never spoke to him, he was a bit too scary for her and she kept her distance. "Yeah, he works there. " She heard Deacon answer, while he steered and swerved them to safety. It was a good thing she didn't get car sick much anymore, as the motions of turning and weaving between broken down cars and Freakers was enough to make one sick if they still got car sick. His stomach did help make the movements more gentle, plus she could feel him leaning into the turns, something he had to do anyway to keep the bike balanced and upright. "Ohh then I did see him. I... never talked to him though. " She sheepishly admitted, feeling a bit bad for judging a book by its cover.

He didn't really mind though, lots of people didn't talk to or were afraid of Boozer, it was pretty understandable. Deacon himself was plenty intimidating but that man was even more so. "Afraid that he might eat you? " Deacon asked in a soft mocking tone, one could almost hear the snicker in his voice. "Before you ask, no he can't, nor would he. " He wasn't sure if she was going to ask or not but he rather cut to the chase. He earned a happy sounding giggle from the girl, no hint of nervousness this time. "No no, he just seemed... angry a lot, or maybe sad." The girl said, almost sounding sad for him too. 

She was actually, she'd watch him for hours as Skizzo ordered everyone around and there were times she was afraid a fight would break out between them, and then there were times as if Skizzo was kicking a sick puppy, not that she'd put it past him. She never liked him that much after all, he wasn't scary but he was just.... mean. "Have you seen him lately? " Deacon asked, a hint of concern in his voice from that. It took her by surprise, but she tried to think of the last time she visited the farm and... well it's actually been a while. "Not in... like, two weeks, why? " She felt a sigh of relief around her, a tenseness in the muscles around her that she didn't notice until now eased back into softness. 

Soon they were back on the pavement, not that it made the ride instantly safer or smoother, he still had to watch out for potholes and other damage in the road. "Well, I... found a puppy and gave it to him, since I couldn't raise it out on the road. He seems happier with the little guy, but I haven't had a lot of time to visit him and check up on him to see his mood. Addy tells me he's doing better though and I... I guess I was worried he was going back to his old ways. " He really should make time though, besides the usual going to bed well after he was and waking up before he did, which was a feat in itself for Boozer had to get up pretty early himself for farm work, though he did go to bed early a lot. 

Of course, Lilly gasped to the word 'puppy'. "There are puppies still? I thought they were all gone... " Maybe she could try to visit him if he had a puppy how bad could he be? Of course, Deacon knew that if the Rippers had anything to say about it, there wouldn't be dogs, for some reason, he wasn't sure what they had against dogs but for all he knew their 'reason' didn't even make sense. "They are rare, yeah but thankfully not gone. " It made sense, wolves were still around so dogs could be too, at least larger breeds of them and maybe some smaller ones that could take care of themselves. Lilly figured they might be getting close to the camp and she had one baffling question she wanted to make sure she could ask before they had to part ways. "Mister Deacon? Why is your motorcycle... pink? It's pink, right? It looked pink." She asked, though she was wary as she worried about embarrassing him, he didn't seem like a man who'd be okay with having a pink bike. 

Deacon sighed, no he wasn't happy about the pink too much, but there was a reason for it. "Uh... Rikki told me that there are more survivors out in the shit than it seems but I'm too 'scary' for them so most run and hide. If I at least made my bike more approachable, we could save more people. So that's what I did, I can't really make me more approachable but the bike can be. It seemed to work, right? " It actually worked better than he thought. Normally he wouldn't have bothered so much, so one guy scared people off, there were many other nicer looking folk that could save them instead. Sadly though he knew that wasn't the case, he covered ground no one else would in months, survivors would die waiting for someone who looked less.... murderous, he couldn't in good conscious let that go. 

"Yes, it... it worked perfectly. I saw you first and-and I hid... I was scared, I thought you were gonna eat me. " Which she... wasn't wrong about, but he wasn't mean she realized now, so she wasn't really scared of him anymore, even while nestled in his warm stomach. "I saw your bike and I just... assumed it wasn't yours, I thought maybe it was a nice lady, like Miss Rikki. " She admitted, hoping it didn't hurt his feelings, but she didn't want to lie. 

Deacon figured that was the case, though he didn't realize she saw him before, it sort of made sense. He had his eyes on Freakers and was focused on killing them off, but he could have missed a little girl hiding in the brush. When he was... focused on killing, he could be a bit unsettling to onlookers, not dangerous really but still unsettling. He did chuckle at the part where she was afraid of him eating her, only a child would think that and happened to find the one man in thousands that actually could. "You must have been surprised to see otherwise, but it's still a woman's doing. At least now I know I'm not dealing with this horrible color without a reason. " Horrible was a bit of an overstatement, it wasn't quite as bad as he made it seem, at least it wasn't 'Hello Kitty' or something, god he wouldn't let her go that far. 

Suddenly the ride became weirdly bumpy and curvy, even though Deacon slowed down. "Are we close to Lost Lake? " She asked, excited and hopeful. It wasn't that she didn't like Deacon's company though, in fact, she actually did like him now, but she wanted to be home and back with her mother too. "Yeah, we're on that bridge leading into camp now. " Lilly heard him say, which she figured meant that she better keep quiet and still, not wanting to get him into trouble with anybody, have them freak out without knowing what was going on and hurt him for eating a child. 

Deacon weaved around the watchguard at the end of the bridge for the countless time, god that guy always stood in the way, but it kept his driving skills sharp. With it now almost snowing there wasn't a whole lot of people out and about, just people watching for attacks, both from Freaks and humans. But this made his final task easier, he had to find a quiet place where no one would see him, so he could let the child out and return her to her mother. He walked the bike next to some other bikes by the front gate, though it still stuck out like a sore thumb, being pink and all. He got off then and started to walk around the camp casually, looking for a secluded place to cough Lilly up. 

Soon he spotted a place not far from Lost Lake's version of a clinic and crouched down behind some bushes. "Alright Lilly, we're in Lost Lake and... I'm about to let you out, you ready? " He asked, while his stomach already let an uneasy gurgle out, his innards sort of protesting the idea of regurgitating such a large thing. But they didn't have a choice, the child couldn't just stay in his gut forever. If nothing else, he still had to eat and drink to survive, and he couldn't while she was using his belly as a bunker. 

Lilly smiled to his warning and heard the uneasy rumble, causing her to give the stomach walls a few last soft rubs, in an attempt to soothe his innards. "Goodbye soft tummy. " She murmured with a snuggle against the front wall before she looked up and answered. "Yes, I'm ready Mister Deacon. " She felt a gentle pat from the outside before he spoke up again. "I come here often, maybe I'll have a craving for small children one of those times. " He said, sounding like he was kidding but she couldn't entirely be sure, nor was she sure if she wanted him to be kidding or not. Soon after, she felt the walls start to close in on her, the floor pushing upwards to move her up, the ring of muscle sealing off the entrance to his stomach relaxed, allowing her to squeeze by without too much discomfort on her part. 

For Deacon, it wasn't so much uncomfortable as it was just... weird, very weird. He wasn't used to this, though he's done it a handful of times before, it was still weird. His muscles had to work in reverse, the same muscles built for just bringing food to his stomach was now having to work an entire human child out, fighting against gravity on top of it all. He did bend over a little, so gravity wasn't fighting him quite so much. Obviously that NERO injector did more than just make his stomach bigger and kept from digesting living things, it must have changed a lot of his insides. After what felt like an hour, though was only about a minute or two, he felt pressure at the back of his throat as Lilly's head eased into his mouth. Her hair tickled his gag spot though and he had to struggle to not cough as more of her was squeezed and kneaded up out of him. 

The process was a lot for Lilly to take in, similar to being swallowed but in reverse, everything was a bit tighter than going down, lots of slime was all over her, though she didn't mind up until cool, cold air hit her from outside when his mouth opened. It was snowing... of course, it was snowing, and it was still pitch dark except for the lights Lost Lake had going. She wiggled a bit to try to help him, especially when he bent over more. It seemed slow at first, but once her shoulders slipped out of his mouth, the rest of her followed pretty smoothly and quickly. She thought she was going to land on the cold ground, but she felt him grab her and hold her, pulling her legs out of him at last. She then watched him straighten, taking a few breaths as he set her down on her own feet in front of him. 

Once the girl was out, he swallowed twice to help straighten out his innards again, before he let out a heavy sigh of relief. "Whew okay... I need to work out my method doing that. " He said, trying to catch his breath since he was unable to breathe during that most of the time. He was caught off guard though when Lilly latched onto him in a hug, oh not this again... he didn't deal with hugs too well. "Oh uh... " He started but wasn't sure what to really say, so he just carefully returned it. "Thank you for saving me and I'm sorry it was hard to let me out. " He heard her say, though it was a little muffled still since her face was pressed against him. "You're welcome and uh... it wasn't that hard, I just... I'm not used to it yet. " 

Deacon glanced around to see if anybody saw them and so far it seemed like it was clear. "Can you find your way home from here? " He asked Lilly, who knows where her mother is but hopefully, Rikki kept her home, just for this sort of reason. Lilly didn't really want to let go but she knew she had to, she just told herself that hopefully, she will meet him again, preferably under better light. "Yes I'm okay, thank you and... I hope to see you again. " She said sweetly, smiling up at him though she could barely make out the details of his face in this dim light and snowstorm. Thankfully since it was snowing, then it wasn't so weird for her to be all wet, so she didn't have to worry about explaining that. 

He smiled back, a little awkward but he was happy for her. "Good, and uh... yeah sure. " He didn't see himself leaving anytime soon so she'd probably have her chance. He then watched the little girl scurry off to go to her mother, while he reached up and brushed off the snow on his hat. It felt good to be able to help someone, not that he'd admit it but... It wasn't really fun being the 'bad guy' in a sense, mostly being a bounty hunter, sure they deserved it but this world lacked positive happenings these days. 

With it being so stormy out, he didn't feel like going back out... in fact, he felt like a good few hours of rest. So he began to walk towards where his cabin was but paused when he saw something moving at the edge of his vision. Turning to it, at first on alert, he relaxed quickly when he saw it was just Addy, under a tree to stay out of the snow. She was a nice shorter woman, African origin, wearing a nice clean blue shirt. "You come in here alone but I saw that little girl, three other people are out looking for her, you should tell Rikki to call them back. "

Deacon rubbed the back of his neck, wondering just how much she saw. "Uh yeah... I guess she was just too small on the back of the bike, no one saw her? " He tried to say, not really wanting to get into how he really carried her here. Addy crossed her arms and shook her head at him, but she had a smile on her face. "It's alright Deek, don't forget it was me who explained to you what that NERO injector did to your body. " She said, her voice holding a scolding tone, like how a mother would talk to her son about getting sick from eating too much candy. 

He was glad it was dark because he was pretty sure he was blushing in embarrassment on that. "Right... uh, sorry... " Now that Addy was here and already knew though, he was curious about something that was nagging at him. Looking around he saw most folks were busy and not paying attention, so he stepped closer to the doctor, so he didn't have to talk as loud. "So... does that make me a cannibal? " He said quietly, sounding worried. He didn't want to be a cannibal... or worse, a Freak. 

Addy laughed a little, almost as if she found his concern adorable or something. "Do you know what a mamma crocodile does to carry and protect her babies? " She asked, but of course Deacon wasn't really big on learning about animals that didn't even live around here, so he shook his head, assuming this was going somewhere but not knowing where. "She carries them in her mouth, that's why crocodiles have such a pouch in their lower jaw. That doesn't mean she is cannibalizing her babies. " 

Deacon blinked, trying to make sense of what she said. "Yeah but I... I swallowed, does that... change anything? " Plus Lilly wasn't his kid, she was just a kid in need. "No dear, it doesn't. You did it to protect her, just as a momma croc protects her babies and nothing can change that. " She assured him as she took his hand, giving it a firm and comforting squeeze. "You saved her life, you made her mother very happy today and this camp needs more people like you, so don't worry your little head over it, okay? " 

Deacon nodded, feeling better about it thanks to Addy's reasoning. "Okay... thanks Addy, I uh... should go get some shuteye. " He patted her hand with his free one before he backed away from her. She crossed her arms again but smiled more happily. "You go do that, you're a mess, oh and don't forget to stop by Rikki. " She teased him as he chuckled and started to walk away after bidding her farewell. He did as she said though and told Rikki, so the other three searchers could come home. 

He slept better that night and actually waited until Boozer woke up before he left again to make more runs for the camp. Things seemed to be as good as they were going to get, in a world where infected outnumbered non-infected humankind.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and if you have any questions/spot any mistakes feel free to speak up! I hope you all enjoyed it.


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